ACTING IN SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE

The major roles in a new play were given to senior actors, with other parts being shared out between the members of the company.

Each actor learned his lines from long scrolls giving only the speeches for his particular character; where these speeches fitted into the play as a whole was revealed during rehearsals. An actor would often have been learning one role in the morning before performing another in the afternoon, as rehearsal time was limited because of the number of new plays required each week.

There was no director, so the cast would follow the play's plot, scene-changes, and entrances and exits on a placard that was hung up backstage. Broad gestures and strong voices were needed to carry a speech to the back of the open-air auditorium over the hubbub of an audience thoroughly enjoying itself, and the actors would have relied on the power of the words themselves to convey any tender emotions or subtleties of character.

♦ Use the image below as a link to read a speech from Hamlet about the art of acting:

The quotation at the top of the page is from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 4 Scene 2